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Looking for the best things to do in Santa Teresa? Then you’ve come to the right place. Having visited Santa Teresa many times, we have found the absolute best things to do, from hidden gems to popular attractions. Read about them below!
If you ask anyone who frequently visits Costa Rica to surf, what’s the most popular place to visit, it’s almost guaranteed they’ll mention Santa Teresa.
With that said, Santa Teresa is so much more than just a surf town. These days it’s the ideal place for a beach getaway with lots of cafes, restaurants, and beach clubs. On top of that, there are a ton of awesome things to do in Santa Teresa from practicing yoga to ziplining through the jungle.
To help plan your upcoming visit, here are the BEST fun things to do in Santa Teresa that are guaranteed to make your visit a trip to remember!
Don’t have time to read the full article? Check out our list of our absolute favorite things to do in Santa Teresa:
- Take this surf lesson at Hermosa Beach and see why Santa Teresa is so popular with surfers.
- Catch tuna, mahi-mahi, and more on this inshore fishing charter.
- Soar above the jungle treetops on this zipline adventure.
Things to do in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
1. Learn to Surf!
I think I speak for most when I say surfing is arguably the number one thing to do in Santa Teresa. Surfing put Santa Teresa on the map and turned a small village into a tourist mecca.
For those just learning to surf, it’s best to get yourself a lesson in Santa Teresa before going off on your own. This top-rated surfing lesson is the one my friends did last time we were there. They had nothing but great things to say about the experience and were up surfing the waves by themselves in no time!
It costs $70 USD for a 90-minute lesson and the price includes all of your necessary equipment. This tour has tons of 5-star reviews (read them here), which means you know you’ll get a good lesson. And trust me, having a lousy lesson can turn you off surfing, which is the last thing we want!
Check out the schedule and availability for this top-rated surf lesson here!
2. Go Fishing
I love fishing in Costa Rica and go often. Santa Teresa is one of my favorite places to do it because of how affordable it is compared to other parts of the country!
For context, I usually pay around $100 to $150 USD per person for an inshore fishing tour in Costa Rica. However, in Santa Teresa, you can go on this inshore fishing charter for only $350 USD for a group of up to 5 people. That means with a full crew; it’s only about $70 USD per person!
At 6:30 am, we headed out from Mal Pais a few nautical miles, and within minutes we were landing tuna. The entire trip involved passing fishing rods around the boat as we landed more fish. We ended the day with 12 tuna, which fed us for the next three days! We even finished the tour with some fresh raw tuna at the dock.
The day we went, the tuna were biting, but you can also catch mahi-mahi, wahoo, snapper, roosterfish, and more. Your captain will know what fish to go for depending on the time of year, currents, and tides.
Overall it was a fantastic day out and well worth the money. It’s definitely one of the best things to do in Santa Teresa – just check out all of the great reviews here!
Secure your spot on this popular fishing trip in advance here!
3. Take a Yoga Class
Yoga is one of the most relaxing exercises you can do, and it’s also great for building strength and stretching out your muscles after a day of surfing. I try to join a yoga class in every town I visit, I just find it so interesting to see how yoga is taught in other countries, plus it’s also a great way to meet like-minded people!
Luckily, in Santa Teresa, yoga is one of the cheapest activities you can do. My favorite yoga class in the area actually offers a two-class package deal, where you get two one-hour classes for only $41 USD. This is such a great deal for the relaxing experience you get.
The classes happen in a beautiful studio in the jungle and are led by expert instructors. No matter if you’re a beginner or advanced yogi, you will enjoy these classes, I promise!
Check availability for this yoga class package deal here!
Why We Book Tours with Viator
Viator is a trusted online booking system for tours around the world! We almost always book our tours using Viator for a couple of reasons:
- Free cancellation on most tours – Most of the tours on Viator allow you to cancel and get a full refund up to 24 hours in advance. This is handy in case plans change, or if booking an outdoor activity, the weather forecast is looking grim.
- Reserve now and pay later – You can secure your spot on some of the most popular tours well in advance and not pay until closer to the day of the tour.
- Lowest price guarantee – If you happen to find the same tour at a lower price elsewhere, Viator will refund you the price difference.
- Pay in your chosen currency – Avoid costly international transaction fees by choosing to pay in your home currency.
- Peace of mind – When booking with tour operators you find in person on the street or in small booking offices, you are often promised one thing and given another. This online platform holds tour operators accountable with a written description of inclusions as well as the opportunity for customers to leave reviews.
Check out the Viator website here! Or, for more info, read our detailed review about Viator here.
4. Private Wildlife Refuge Tour
Did you know that Curú wildlife refuge was actually the first of its kind in Costa Rica?
It’s such a beautiful place and it’s home to secluded beaches and bays, as well as lots of lush jungle. But the real reason that Curú is a must-visit is because it’s teeming with wildlife!
We saw SO much when we visited with this private tour, from spider monkeys and scarlet macaws to crocodiles, deer, and bats… the list goes on! It was actually hard to believe just how many creatures there were here.
Our guide, Ernesto, had a real knack for spotting wildlife and we saw so much more with him than we would have on our own. It felt like we saw something new with every step we took, and thanks to Ernesto’s spotting scope we were able to get close-up views and take amazing photos on our phones.
So if you’re keen to see as much wildlife as possible in Costa Rica, then we can’t recommend this tour enough. The fact it was a private tour also meant that we got Ernesto’s undivided attention and learned so much about the creatures that we saw.
We absolutely loved exploring the reserve and it was nice to have a little time to chill out at the beaches after hiking through the jungle, too. A minimum of two people is needed to book this experience, so it’s ideal for couples, families, and groups of friends. If you only do one wildlife tour in Costa Rica, make sure it’s this one!
Check availability and secure your spot on this awesome tour here!
5. Zipline, ATV, and Waterfall: Combo Tour
One of the most unique and fun ways to take on the views and get amongst the wildlife in Santa Teresa is on a ziplining tour. Imagine soaring high above the treetops with epic views of the ocean! That’s exactly what you get on this epic full-day tour which includes ziplines as well as a visit to Montezuma Falls!
The tour includes eight ziplines with one over 500 meters (1,640 feet) long! You’ll get some high speed and more than enough adrenaline. You’ll also get to go ATV’ing through the jungle and visit some local towns and beaches along the way to the beautiful Montezuma Waterfall.
This day is full of adventure and fun times for the whole family. If you haven’t been ziplining yet in Costa Rica, this is the perfect chance and is something you cannot miss while visiting!
It’s a popular tour and only runs on Sundays, so make sure you book in advance!
Click here to check availability and prices!
Getting Around Costa Rica
How you choose to get around Costa Rica is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make when planning your holiday here! How you do it depends on your budget, travel style, and comfort level.
Renting a Car
Without a doubt, the number one way to explore Costa Rica is in a rental car. We book rental cars on the Discover Cars website as we have had good experiences with them in the past.
One of the things you need to watch for when renting a car in Costa Rica is the mandatory insurance that the government requires you to have. There are a lot of very cheap rentals that don’t include this mandatory insurance (TPL) in the original booking price, but there are also ones that do. To avoid additional surprise charges when you pick up your rental car, be sure to rent a car that includes the mandatory insurance when you book.
Thankfully, on Discover Cars it’s easy to tell apart the companies that include the mandatory insurance and those that don’t. The trick is you can’t pick any car on their website. In the picture below, you can see this rental car, with pick up in Jaco, includes the TPL. That means the mandatory insurance is included in the price. Any cover you get above that is extra.
Of course, I still suggest getting the full coverage offered by Discover Cars, which covers you even more.
You can browse cars on Discover Cars here.
Book Shuttles
If renting a car isn’t in your budget, you don’t feel comfortable driving in Costa Rica, or you just don’t like driving, shuttles are the next best option. There are hundreds of shuttle routes available all over the country, and they are very affordable.
Shuttles in Costa Rica are specifically for tourists and often include pick up and drop off at your selected hotels and airports. The drivers also speak some English, and the vehicles have air conditioning. You’ll also be guaranteed a seat when you book a shuttle (which isn’t the case with the public bus system.)
To get the best price, use the website Bookaway. They compare all the offers and prices of shuttle companies in Costa Rica so you get the best price! Honestly, we have saved so much money using Bookaway!
You can search for shuttles online on Bookaway here.
Public Bus
Lastly, you can use the public bus system. On short journeys, such as from San Jose to La Fortuna or Uvita to Manuel Antonio, this system is great. However, the longer the journey the more hassle and time spent on a bus. It’s undoubtedly best to save the public bus in Costa Rica for short and straightforward trips!
The public buses are definitely the cheapest way to get around Costa Rica, but they are not always very reliable and schedules often change without notice and delays are to be expected. The buses can also be very crowded and hot – so just be prepared!
It’s also good to speak some Spanish if you plan on riding the public bus since most drivers and ticket booth operators don’t speak English.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance!
If you’re looking to save money on travel insurance, we currently use and recommend SafetyWing. We’ve been using their coverage since 2018 and they’ve had our backs when we needed emergency flights and got sick overseas.
SafetyWing is one of the cheapest providers out there and covers everything from medical costs to lost luggage, travel delays, and emergency flights. A huge difference we’ve found between them and other companies is that they let you take out a policy AFTER leaving your home country. We’ve also found it handy that it’s a monthly payment rather than a lump sum, and you can get a refund for unused time.
SafetyWing has helped us out in some scary situations before and their affordable coverage has given us peace of mind.
Pura Vida!
Santa Teresa is, without a doubt, one of the most popular beach destinations in Costa Rica. And with the amazing list above, why wouldn’t it be?
I hope this guide on the best things to do in Santa Teresa has helped plan your upcoming visit. If it has, check out more of our blog, we have so much to share with you. Some blogs you may like are: